A New Day Has Come

The album was released worldwide on March 25, 2002 and in North America on March 26. The recording started on August 28, 2001, in Studios Piccolo, in Montreal. It is the Celine Dion's eighth English-language album since 1991. It showcases her traditionnal themes of love and hope : there are ballads -some larger than life, other subtle and romantic- as well as a number of playful pop romps and a pair of standards that simply showcase her vocal gifts.

I want this album to be soothing. If people need a partner, a helping hand, to cry, to dance, whatever it is, I want it to be like a little shoulder to lean on. As we all know, the world is going through a lot - Céline

Songs

(Theme song in "Stuart Little II")From the team that wrote That's The Way It Is, this is one of the lighter moments on the set A New Day Has Come; the rhythm is particularly stimulating.
"It's cute, it's fun, it's fresh, Céline offers. You don't have to listen to the lyric to enjoy it."

"This time, Dion says, composers dared to send me different things.
I'm satisfied. It's not because I don't want to try things, it's that no one send it to
me, just some hard ballads to sing... As Celine can! But there, they sent to me Rain, Tax, it is very different
for me, and it's Read more... refreshing".

This is an English adaptation of the song Tomber by French Gérald de Palmas.
"The album was finished, Dion explains, I had recorded twenty-seven songs, it was necessary
to cut ten songs as it was... It was in December, we were in Montreal. And there, I watch a french tv special about Read more... Garou,
I see an extraordinary fellow who is called Gerald De Palmas...I fell, it
is the case to say it, under the shock of this melody of the song Tomber.
"There, I say myself : I want a song like that, I want me to imagine that I am a part of a band, that
I play the guitar...
Rene says to me :
"It is not possible, we have already too many songs.
- Listen, I say to him, that, it will be my gift of the album, can we give it a try at least?
- Yes, it is ok but I do not know Gerald De Palmas.
- Call Jean-Jacques Goldman, ask him for Gerald De Palmas' number, I am sure that they know each other well...
And then we are going to ask to Aldo Nova to make the translation of the song..."
Finally, one thing leading to another, it arrived, Aldo Nova's adaptation perfectly stuck phonetically,
I call Gerald De Palmas :
"I would like to work with you... Your song Tomber, I love it! Do you want to make this song for me two tones higher?"
We sent for Gerald to the studio in Florida - it was his first journey in the United States, he could not get over it and
he expected to see Spielberg, E.T. or Mickey Mouse! - and we asked him to realize the adaptation of his piece."

This devastatingly emotional ballad speaks about the absolute love between a child and her mother. Shania Twain does the background vocals.
Céline first heard the Robert John "Mutt" Lange song three years ago and turn it down.
"Now, being a mother, I found the Read more... strenght to sing it, she says, but it was hard."
Its lesson?
"Never wait too long to tell someone how you feel."

It is the album A New Day Has Come's bombastic, heart pounding, produced by David Foster
"It's big, my gosh, Céline says with a laugh, I always need one of these!"
She sings to forbidden love amid a firestorm of utterly volcanic instrumentation.

"I can see beginning my show and looking into everyone's eyes and singing this song,
Céline says. This is my hello."
The song is simple garnished with fiddle, and a vocal that sounds ike it was captured from the church
rafters.
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra originate the instrumental Read more... version in 1941, for the film Sun Valley Serenade.
The original version with voice, sung by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday, is recorded in 1942 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra
for the film Orchestra Wives. Etta James' version
, which is the most popular, is recorded in August, 1960, in Chicago for her album entitled At Last.

It is the most 'dance' song that Céline never recorded; she holds a twelve second anthentic
note that puts the "d" in diva. An unquestionable single.
"I usually go for the heart but not this time, I want them to dance." Céline says.

(Spanish version of L'amour existe encore)It is the Spanish adaptation of L'amour existe encore, a song about the AIDS, which Celine sang on her album Dion chante Plamondon (or Des mots qui sonnent).
"At the beginning of my sabbatical leave, tells Celine, I wanted to make most possible things,
so I learnt Spanish Read more... because I love the languages. Then the baby was born. L'amour existe encore, signed
Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante, is wonderful and I had interpreted it ten years ago. When you
are crazy about a melody, you want to hear it in all the languages, and as the audience was demanding
a title in Spanish for South America..."
"What's brilliant, Luc Plamondon goes into raptures, it's that the text says "Aún existe amor"...
"Amor" comes on "encore" from the French version. We can find the same tone...
It's formidable!"
Celine had recorded L'amour existe encore in English and Spanish version. It is the Spanish version
Aún existe amor, which was finally chosen, because it sounded better phonetically.

An adaptation into English of L'envie d'aimer sung by Daniel Levi, from the french musical Les Dix Commandements.
"This album features several adaptations of songs from French, reveals Rene Angelil, L'envie d'aimer, which we did not know,
was the first title which was Read more... presented to us, two years ago, after the MIDEM, while we were on holidays. At once,
Celine loved it. We did not think too much of the next album, at that time. Our version is not
the English version of the musical which has just started (2002).".

Against a finespun sweep of strings and piano, the sparkling title track from the album A New Day Has Come is among the most delicate, understarted songs Céline has recorded.
"For me, this represents the birth of my child, Céline says. Nothing can ever come close Read more... to that. But it can mean different things for anyone who has to find strength again. I think it's very positive." Stephan Moccio wrote the lyrics of the song on a music by Aldo Nova.

"Nature boy was recorded for the first time by Nat King Cole, Celine says. It closes my album A New Day Has Come. It is Eddy Marnay, my accomplice, who spoke to me about it. I recorded it for voice and piano, accompanied by Jorge Calandrelli, who worked with Frank Sinatra and Barbra Read more... Streisand."
"This is the one I had the most kick out of in the studios, Dion says. I could hear the pedal of the piano and the touch of the keys while I was singing. We were following each other. It's the real thing."
" In the listening, we preferred not to add the symphonic orchestration nevertheless very beautiful which was originally foreseen. The original duet gets closer to the purity. I find it magic."

"It represents my child, because I gave life, and it is beautiful. Dion says. Obviously, it also marks my return with a new album. But a new day has also come in the lives of other people because something bad has happened, (the events of September 11, 2001 in USA) because we've lost lives, because there's a scar on our world now."

Céline struggled over for the cover of the album, feeling that a portrait reflecting her good fortune was in poor taste after the events of September 11.

"What am I supposed to project to the lens? She wondered, I was happy and strong, but I couldn't commit myself to smile, as it to say : 'Who cares? She's happy, She has a child...' At the same time, I felt very weak and small with everything that's happened in the world...and yet I didn't want to look down and be miserable, because we need something positive, to be able to look forward."
Céline suggested to Sony that the album cover not include her picture.

However, on December 20th, 2001, Céline has just ended all the same a photo session for the album. The session took place in Montreal with noted New York City photographer Melvin Sokolsky. And, after much discussion, in late December, Melvin Sokolsky shot a montage of Dion where several different angles of her face convey various emotions. Apparently, at the end, these pictures were not used for the album as Sokolsky's name does not appear inside the booklet.

About the cover, here is the first version of the album cover finally aired on Internet by Sony Music:

But, on January, 30th and 31th, an additional photo session for the album took place in Florida, on a beach near Celine's house. The photographer was Patrick De Marchelier, Céline's hair was done by Oribe Canales and her make-up was done by Mally Roncal. The current album cover comes from this session.

Did you know that? Jean Renard, famous composer of all the Mike Brant's tubes, announced, in the french newspaper Le Parisien (on December 07th, 2001):
"Celine Dion is going to record the tube written for Mike Brant : Laisse moi t'aimer!".
It would be about an English version. The song was not finally kept for the final choice.